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Sunday, September 29, 2013

Anyone catch the new Frozen trailer that debuted on Thursday? What do you think? My reaction was: I think the scenery is gorgeous, I like Anna's spunk, I can do without Olaf. Then I watched it a second time and I can definitely do without Olaf. I really don't know how much screen time he has, but he is prominent in the trailer.

*****

Once I've had more time in my Newtons, I'll post a review, but a short follow-up: I did my half mile runs on Thursday and Friday and my calves are a bit sore, near the ankles. My chiro said they would be and has given me calf drops to strengthen that spot. I wore my Brooks on Saturday do my half mile and even after only two runs in the Newtons, I was up on my toes in the Brooks. Has my brain been trained already?

*****

Finally, I was inspired by the cookie post at Meals and Miles. Saturday the weather was rather crappy, so after running my half mile and doing level 1 of Killer Buns and Thighs, I made chocolate hazelnut cookies. They are yummy!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

I will admit, I've been Mr. Grumpygills since Saturday. Why? Because despite my chiro saying he was making progress on my knee, I had a set back. So now the plan is to try to build durability in my knee, and work on strengthening the inner quad. The main part of the quad is pulling my knee cap to the outside, so I need to balance out the muscles.

I pretty much had a pity party on Saturday, but while that's dropped by the wayside, I'm still Mr. Grumpygills. I did buy a new pair of shoes on Sunday from Run On!, a pair of Newtons I got on sale, which never happens. They're last season's color combo. Once I get a chance to try them out, I'll post a review.

When I told my chiro I'm resigned to walking the WDW half, he said I'd be able to run it, so I'm throwing out the training schedule I picked out, and instead I'm going to do exactly what he tells me. Right now we're scaling back the mileage to half a mile, each day for six days, then rest on the 7th. And only half a mile each day. Even if the knee feels good, he says to stop at half a mile. So that's what I'll do.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

I tried archery for the first time in my life on Sunday. I channeled my inner Merida (or Katniss) and it was really fun. I became certified for the 10 yard practice, and next time I go, I can try the 15 yard practice. I had to hit at least 5 out of 6 arrows into the small circles, and did so after some warm up.

My left forearm was quite tired from holding the bow for so many rounds of shooting, but the right forearm was sore last week after bowling. I'm just balancing it out.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

I think I'm going to need a bigger Christmas tree this year. I have a fake tree that I bought for my first Christmas in Dallas, and it's a nice Christmas tree, but I've been collecting ornaments, and of course Disney has released more designs for this season. Oof!

There's a Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo ornament. Lilo and Stitch. Rapunzel. Baloo. Merida. Ugh! I have to decide so I don't buy the lot. For all you Dopey runners, there is one of Dopey, and one of Dopey with Snow White. I know it's premature, but that could be a fun way to commemorate doing nearly 50 miles in 4 days.

Also, after looking at some of the new Frozen ornaments, I could very well be talked into seeing Frozen when it's released.

And lastly, new shows start this week! Actually, Fox started airing new shows this past week, and I watched the first episode of Sleepy Hollow. It's certainly not your Disney version, and not even Tim Burton. I'm intrigued, but it's certainly not what I expected.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Ode to the sweet potato. Seriously, where has this thing been? I will confess, I was not a potato lover when I was a kid. I could barely tolerate french fries and I refused to eat tater tots... OK, I still don't eat tater tots. Yes I eat French fries now, but it wasn't until I moved to Dallas when I first heard about sweet potato fries.

Sweet potato fries? What? I never really thought about different potatoes being turned into French fries, so I never heard about them. Now, it's best if people do not stand between me and sweet potato fries. I will knock that person out of my way. If a restaurant doesn't have them, that's fine, I still like regular fries, but if a place does have them, I request those instead of the standard fries. And thankfully, my group's watering hole has them on the menu :-)

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

I ran a mile last Monday, then another mile on Tuesday and Wednesday, then 1.5 miles Saturday and Sunday. I've been given the go ahead to work on my running form to switch up my stride and where I strike. Monday I was on the treadmill, and realized I need to be outside to work on this. Like, "still summer weather in Texas" outside. See?

Still summer weather, and of course that forecast changed :( I want cooler weather!

I also checked out New Balance's online videos about healthy running form. I can strike midfoot when I'm running in place, but it's the change that'll take a while. I did feel a difference at times during my run Saturday, but I gotta get it throughout the entire run. I have so much to think about, I feel like Blu from "Rio." "This is it! Let's fly! Just keep it simple. Thrust, lift, drag and weight. Thrust, lift, drag, weight."

And I found out something that's shouldn't be a shocker, at all. After a summer of dealing with injuries, I'm out of shape. A faster cadence means I'm moving faster, but I don't have the stamina for that yet. I'm huffing and puffing out there :-/

Thursday, September 12, 2013

We're going! We qualified for the World Cup on Tuesday. We beat Mexico, and Honduras and Panama tied, so we're in! Costa Rica also qualified, so 2 of the 3.5 spots CONCACAF gets are tied up.

We beat Mexico by a score of (what else?) 2-0, with goals scored by Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan. We qualified for the 2006 world cup by beating Mexico 2-0 in Columbus in 2005. See the pattern? I think Mexico has nightmares about playing at Crew Stadium.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

I've started looking at ways to incorporate more protein into my diet, starting with breakfast. My breakfasts usually consist of carbs, then by 9:30 in the morning, I'm eating a trail mix bar. I have lunch, then a protein bar before I leave work, then dinner. I have a source of protein for each of those meals, so what is the best way to have protein in my breakfast? More protein means I can help my muscles, especially since I have strengthening exercises to do.

Scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes

I tried yogurt and just couldn't get past the feeling of "do I treat it like jello, or do I have to chew it?" I'm starting to test out different brands of frozen breakfast items to see which one works best, and which item. It'll certainly add in choices for breakfast, but the trick is before the crack of dawn, I really can't eat a huge breakfast. I'm a grazer.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

So it looks like I can be fixed. That's such great news, so even though I have plenty of work to do before training starts, I can let myself think of WDW marathon weekend.

I'm not creative enough to run in costume, but I still want to put something fun together. While browsing the internet for something unrelated to this event, I found this at tattoosales.com, under their Disney section:

Donald looks quite determined, and since the medal has Donald on it, why not get a temporary tattoo of the duck himself? Now that I have the idea, I can search out the best one.

They do have a Dumbo tattoo, maybe something to think about for next year's DDD runners.

I have one more day to do the strengthening exercises I was given, but my poor butt! The spots these exercises target are tender, more so on my right side. I can do it...

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Wednesday was the very first (ever!) appointment I had with a chiropractor. The doctors are orthopedic chiropractors, so it's not gong to be adjust the spine and let me go. I have issues, but I knew that already ;-) The issue this time wasn't just ITBS, but patella tendonitis. I'd worked so well on my tight IT band, the pain there went away, bringing to light a secondary pain.

1) I'm a heel striker, and that has to change. The doc said he can correct the other problems, but if I don't change where I strike on my feet, these problems will return. I need to shorten my stride too.

2) Tight, tight muscles. I already had sore spots driving home. My muscles in my right leg are so tight, they're pulling my pelvis up by an inch, causing a difference in range of where my feet strike. My legs are the same length, but because my right leg is pulled up, that's creating an inch difference. He's going to work on releasing that tightness to see if that corrects the pull on my pelvis before working on the joints.

3) Apparently the patella tendonitis has been in my knee for a while because there is noticeable swelling. I don't know if it's scar tissue, but he used the Graston Technique to work at that spot. My low quad and the tendon are very tight, causing that tendonitis and swelling, which is weird because I never felt tightness in my quad.

Overall, I'm very hopeful. I do have some exercises to do before my next appointment on Monday, and I did them last night when I got home. So one more thing to do while I keep rolling, stretching, and icing.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

It might've been on the treadmill, but I fulfilled the 5k for Run Your Tail Off virtual race.

I had to walk the last mile because my knee kept twinging, and I have swallowed my pride and called a sports therapist. I was making progress in July, but August was one big setback. I do NOT want to lose Disney, so I need help. I'm stumped and am so frustrated, so it's time to go to the experts. There's no point in being my usual stubborn self and hurting my knee more than it hurts now. My appointment is tomorrow, and I'm hoping for some good news and a game plan.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Happy September! I hope everyone who is participating at DL is having a blast and getting those medals. Pictures were posted of the medals for January, and though there's been a mixed reaction, I love them! My training doesn't start for about another month, but it's definitely motivation.

For those not at DL this weekend, I hope y'all are enjoying a fun and relaxing long weekend.